Overall I had the time of my life……. It was good to fly on both Concorde and the 747 because now (from experience) I can write about what I felt both planes and what Concorde really felt like compared to a flight on a subsonic plane.

My comments and views of Concorde are from a layman’s point of view…..from an outsider….some one new looking in at Concorde and the 747……they are from a person who chased Concorde for 27 years and got to fly on her.

Boeing 747

Overall the 747 crew worked extremely hard to do a professional job and to make sure we where all safe, the stewardesses where running around all through the flight and they really earned their money……but unlike Concorde on the 747 there wasn’t a sense of “ fun “.

The crew didn’t look like they where having any fun at all, but on Concorde wow we including the crew and pilots where all having a party at 58,000 feet and at twice the speed of sound. :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

If some of my 747 crew hadn’t acted like school teachers bugging school kids and if they had “allowed“ me to keep the camcorder or EOS 3 with me that would have been good.

On Concorde I expected “better“ faster and more laid back flight and I got it…..but on Mr Blobby I knew I’d be stuck in this fat lump for 7-8 hours instead of 3 ½ hours on Concorde.

The general atmosphere on the 747 was to “strict“ and I would have gladly spent 8 hours on Concorde flying at mach 2 as the atmosphere on Concorde was chilled out, relaxed and above all it was “ fun “ plus I adored Concorde.

Although I really wanted to fly there and back on Concorde…..I’m glad I got the chance to fly on Concorde to New York and on the 747 home because this above all showed me the real advantage Concorde had over the 747 and other subsonic planes, that advantage is saving “ time “.

If I had flown on Concorde both ways I wouldn’t really have known this but 3 ½ hours in to my flight on the 747 my body was expecting to be in London but my brain realised I was still stuck on 747 half way across the Atlantic that’s when I really knew Concorde was THE plane every one had to fly on and the 747 (with ALL other transatlantic “ subsonic “ planes) should have been scrapped and consigned to museums.

I feel due to “political“ reasons and those namby pamby “ tree“ huggers we will not get Concorde or “son of Concorde“ for many decades or centuries to come……When Concorde was “retired“ we went BACK in technology terms….we never went forward.

People complained about the sonic boom…..but all over the world there are parts of the world which are unpopulated where you can have air corridors for supersonic aircraft to fly over land and sea which wouldn’t disturb the “tree huggers”……but this will never happen as the “ tree huggers “ have won.

Sky tracker on the 747 is a brilliant idea and it would have been good to have that on Concorde as I could have seen how high……how fast and where we where in real time.

I don’t want people to think I was ungrateful for the flight home on 747 in Business Class I was grateful for that but people need to understand what context I meant it in.

If people think I hate the 747, I don’t hate the plane……my ONLY complaint is its “ lack of speed “…… after flying on Concorde nothing else matches up as unlike on Concorde the 747 was just to *** SLOW *** it was painfully SLOW and until people have flown the same distance on both planes they cant see that difference.

I expected the 747 to be laid back, chilled out kind of flight but it wasn’t next to Concorde on the 747 I felt like I was back at school with teachers saying you cant do this or that.

Looking at the positive side as a subsonic plane compared to the 737 the 747 is a great plane its big, comfortable……spacious and has plenty of leg room for people to walk around (when the isles ain’t busy with air stewardesses)…..the business class seats where massive on the 747 with plenty of “toys“ to play with and overall compared to the 737 the 747 is a very comfortable plane.

Next to Concorde you can’t compare the 747 as Concorde is “Concorde“ and the best of the best.

The thought of having Mr Blobby the fat 747 as British Airways’s and Air France’s flag ship is an insult and humiliation to both airlines which for 27 years where the only airlines in the world to have the fastest and SAFEST passenger plane in the sky.

After my flight countless many people recognised me from TV and spoke to me at Heathrow.

I think I will be linked to Concorde forever as people who saw me on TV and use to say

:-

You’re the guy who flew on Concorde

it was nice to know that people cared but I had to be careful of how I behaved etc.